ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The 14th-ranked Navy water polo team closes out the 2012 regular season this weekend when it hosts George Washington and Johns Hopkins on Saturday in Scott Natatorium in Macdonough Hall. The Midshipmen face George Washington at 11:00 AM, before taking on Johns Hopkins at 3:00 PM.

The Last Meeting

Navy

13

Johns Hopkins

14

October 10, 2012
Baltimore, Md.

Navy Water Polo Splits Weekday Road Trip
The 14th-ranked Navy water polo team split its two-game weekday road trip on Wednesday, falling to Johns Hopkins, 14-13, in the day's first game before topping George Washington, 14-8, in the nightcap.

Admission to both games is free and the contest with Johns Hopkins will be streamed online free of charge via Navy All-Access on NavySports.com(.)

Navy enters the weekend with a 19-2 overall record and a 5-1 mark in the CWPA Southern Division standings. The Midshipmen have won three straight games against league foes since their lone league loss to Johns Hopkins on Oct. 10. With its last victory, Navy has now won at least 19 games in all 31 years the program has been in existence since being resurrected in 1982.

Navy needs to win just one game to earn the top seed for next weekend's CWPA Southern Division Tournament. The Mids own a 5-1 league record, while Princeton (5-3) and Johns Hopkins (4-3) have three losses each.

The Midshipmen are currently ranked second in the CWPA Eastern Top 10 behind 12th-ranked Brown, and have scored at least 11 goals in all 21 games except one, a 15-7 loss to ninth-ranked Long Beach State on Sept. 27.

The Midshipmen have had a dominating offensive season, outscoring opponents 376-188, an average of 17.9 to 9.0 goals per game. Just once this year, against ninth-ranked Long Beach State, have the Midshipmen been held to single-digit goals (7). Navy has allowed just eight-of-21 opponents to score double-figure goals, but it has happened in two straight games and in five of the last six contests.

Navy senior Paul Pedrotty continues to pace the Midshipmen with team highs in goals (70) and points (104) while ranking tied for the team lead in assists (34). He has scored a goal in 35 straight games that he has played in dating back to last year, and became the 12th player in school history to record 100 points in a season, now ranking tied for ninth with 104 points. He needs just 19 points to move into a second-place tie with Tom Popp (123 / 1988). He also became the 17th player in school history to score 200 career points and ranks 17th on the school's career scoring list with 211 points.

Pedrotty needs just five goals to move into the single-season top 10 list for goals and just four assists to move into the top 10 of that list.

Senior Anthony Gutierrez and sophomore Tyler Barker have seen about identical time in goal. Barker leads the team with 81 saves against 92 goals allowed for a .468 save percentage, while Gutierrez has 64 saves against 43 goals allowed for a .598 save percentage. Gutierrez has 441 career saves to rank eighth on the career saves list, needing nine stops to tie Ken Johansen (1985-88) for seventh on the list.

George Washington enters the contest with a 10-13 overall mark and a 1-6 league mark. Navy is 44-2 all-time against George Washington with 34 straight wins against the Colonials. Navy won the last meeting, 14-8, in Washington, D.C., earlier this week.

Johns Hopkins is 22-7 overall and 4-3 in the CWPA Southern Division. Navy leads the series with the Blue Jays, 44-2, but Johns Hopkins won the last meeting, a 14-13 decision on Sept. 27 in Baltimore.

The CWPA Southern Division Tournament will be played in Lewisburg, Pa., on the campus of Bucknell University starting next Friday. The top four finishers at next weekend's event will advance to the CWPA Eastern Championship on Nov. 16-18 in Princeton, N.J.